Category Archives: Buyers

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Experts Shoot Down Housing Bubble Warnings

Several experts at a conference in Miami a couple weeks ago called into question economist Robert Shiller’s recent comments that the housing market was starting to look “a little bubbly.” Shiller, who co-developed the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite 10 Home Price Index, has said he’s concerned some markets across the country may be over-correcting and starting to resemble a housing bubble.

However, a group of housing experts disagreed during the ABS East 2013 conference. Price appreciation is slowing, says Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist. Fleming says that the rapid growth in appreciation in previous months was a correction after an overshoot in prices falling during the housing crisis.

“We are certainly not in a housing bubble,” added Laurie Goodman, who heads the Urban Institute.

Even if interest rates continue to move higher, the housing market would still be OK, say Goodman and Fleming. Goodman says that even with a 6 percent interest rate, affordability would remain at 2000-2003 levels.

The article…

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Realty Researcher Expects Housing Rebound to Continue

Money

In a series of weekly blogs, analysts from John Burns Real Estate Consulting remain mostly optimistic about the housing rebound, but raised caution flags about flippers.

“We are advising our clients in areas with a high percentage of flippers to take into account the risk of artificial price appreciation,” stated a company vice president. “While successful flips are more likely to be reported than unsuccessful ones, the profits described to the public wildly surpass the reality of the recovering market.”

Read more…

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Housing Activity “speeding along,” but Pace Slowing as Seasons Change

September tested the housing market’s resilience around Western Washington with fluctuating mortgage rates, record-setting rains, and persistent inventory shortages in some areas. By month’s end, however, both pending and closed sales outgained the same period a year ago, according to the latest figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service earlier this month.

Prices also increased compared to 12 months ago, but fell slightly from the previous month. Year-to-date figures through nine months show prices for homes and condominiums that have sold in the 21 counties served by the MLS are up 12 percent from a year ago.

Read the article…

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3 Home Buying Compromises To Never Make

Thoughts

There’s no such thing as a perfect house. Whether you’re spending millions on an insane estate or starting out with a 5-figure tract home, there will undoubtedly be something you feel like you’re missing. Compromise is part of the game. That said, there are some items that buyers shouldn’t budge on, period. Here are Trulia’s top three.

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Shutdown Will Stall Home Loans for Thousands

Beginning this week, thousands of home buyers will be unable to get approvals for their mortgages because of the government shutdown, potentially undercutting the nation’s resurgent housing market.

Without paperwork from the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and in many cases the Federal Housing Administration, banks and other mortgage lenders will be less willing to make loans, if they can make them at all. For instance, lenders rely on the IRS to confirm borrowers’ income and on Social Security to confirm their identity.

Every day that government offices remain shuttered will delay an ever-larger fraction of mortgage closings, industry leaders say, jeopardizing mortgage and interest-rate approvals and spooking sellers. About 15,000 new home mortgages and 18,000 refinancings on average are completed across the country each day.

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Homes Near Public Transit Worth More

Homes close to public transportation are worth more than similar properties that don’t have nearby access to subways, rail lines, or buses, according to a study commissioned by the American Public Transportation Association and the National Association of REALTORS®.

Researchers evaluated five years worth of sales data in several major metros with various public transportation options. They found that homes located within a half-mile of public transportation were valued 41 percent higher than properties located outside that area.

“Transportation plays an important role in real estate and housing decisions, and the data suggests that residential real estate near public transit will remain attractive to buyers,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “When consumers choose a home, they also choose a lifestyle. Shorter commutes and more walkable neighborhoods matter to a growing number of people, especially those living in congested metro areas.”

Read the details…

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3 Rent vs. Buy Market Myths

Calculator

To rent or to buy? That is the question. Well, at least for many buyer prospects.

Buyers are sometimes stunned at the number of potentially life-changing decisions and choices they are required to make over the course of a house hunt. This neighborhood or that one?  Condo or single family? Fixer or move-in ready? Is that the right house? How much to offer, and on what terms? When to make an offer?  Whether to remove contingencies?

And that’s just the short list. Read more…

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As Mortgage Refi Boom Dries Up

…lenders are loosening requirements for homebuyers.

Credit Accessibility

Online mortgage originator LendingTree’s monthly Credit Accessibility Report shows the average accessibility score for U.S. borrowers rose from 103 to 106 between July and August, indicating that borrowers had easier access to mortgage credit.

The Credit Accessibility score is benchmarked at 100, using data from the full year of 2012, which is where it stood in June.

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Bigger Mortgage Rates, Smaller Homes?

As the costs of mortgages get bigger, could the size of homes buyers purchase get smaller?

According to financial Web site The Motley Fool, interest rates and home size are closely tied together. “As interest rates fell in the late 1970s, home sizes grew,” Motley Fool reports. “As rates rocketed in the early 1980s, home sizes contracted. After reaching a peak in the 1980s, mortgage rates have fallen precipitously, and homes have grown in almost every single year since.”

Read more…

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Why hasn’t the inventory shortage fueled more home construction?

Ever wondered why, in the face of a sharp inventory shortage, new home construction still lags so far behind other housing indicators? According to Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko, there are two reasons…